In this issue:

• Container Control and Callback - by Brent Thorn
• Creating Dialogs by API - by Alyce Watson
• How to Place a Dialog - by Ken Lewis Sr.
• Centering a Dialog with Stylebits - by Alyce Watson
• Closing Multiple Windows - by Jim Brossman
• Transferring Images with TransparentBlt - by Janet Terra
• Getting the Most from the Liberty BASIC IDE - by Alyce Watson
• API Corner, Animation Control - by Alyce Watson
• Sprite Byte: Changing the Sprite Image - by Alyce Watson
• Using Qcard DLL - Lesson 6 - by Alyce Watson
• DEMOS
  • Patterns and Music - by Gordon Sweet
• Newsletter help
• Index

Notes from the Editor:

We have another packed issue this month, thanks to the many generous, creative and clever people in the Liberty BASIC community!

Brent Thorn has given us so much help over the years with his many demos, and here is an extraordinary example. Brent shows us how to create dialogs with API calls and use them as container controls. Brent pushes the limits of LB further with each of his contributions. Thanks so much, Brent!

Speaking of dialogs, Ken Lewis Sr. is offering some help in locating native Liberty BASIC dialogs. Ken has also pioneered some great new methods in Liberty BASIC, which he continuously and graciously shares with us. Way to go, Ken!

Jim Brossman checks in this month with a really useful article. People often wonder how to manage a program that consists of several windows. If the program ends without closing some of the windows, it generates an error. If the program attempts to close a window that is not open, it also generates an error. Jim shows us how to manage all of our open windows to prevent any errors. Thanks a bunch, Jim!

Janet Terra is so much more than the newsletter proofreader she claims to be, although she does a wonderful job with that, too. This issue features another of her terrific articles. This one is about some complicated graphics API calls, but Janet explains them so clearly that even I understand! The TransparentBlt function allows us to superimpose an image onto another image, with a transparent background. It works very much like sprites, but without masks. Be sure to read Janet's caveats about this method. This will really come in handy, Janet. Thanks!

Liberty BASIC has a great integrated development environment. It is much more than just a source code editor. This issue contains an article about maximizing its usefulness.

Do you need an animated graphic in a program, but it doesn't really call for sprites? Try an animation control, instead. It is created with API calls, and it is pretty simple to do. Have a go at it and see!

This month's Sprite Byte demonstrates the way to change the image on a sprite. There are two ways to do this, depending upon the needs of the animation. There are a couple of demo programs that illustrate the techniques.

We have another in the Qcard DLL series this month. This one modifies the sample program to keep track of which cards have been removed from the table.

Gordon Sweet is an old pro at converting programs written in older BASICs to Liberty BASIC, and here is another interesting, amusing example. This one generates many fascinating graphical patterns, accompanied by MIDI music. Nice one, Gordon!

The only thing that is not in this issue is Tom Nally's "Not in this issue!" I did get a tip from an anonymous source, who said that [Ben & Jerry's] is considering some new flavors: BINARY Cherry, CircleFilled with Nuts, Boolean Berry Bliss, Chocolate Log(), and Banana d' Version$.

- Alyce Watson